We just moved here from Philadelphia, and I am a raw but enthusiastic new gardener (read: NO EXPERIENCE whatsoever, except with indoor plants). I've "inherited" -- from the former owners of our house -- a large rock garden on a west-facing slope that looks like at one time in its life it had great personality. Now that personality (in the form of various flowering plants, shrubs, and ground cover) is being perfectly smothered by ivy. The ivy even went to seed last summer when we moved in, and after reading about how it can strangle everything else in a garden (and how the seeds are spread by birds), I set about removing, by hand, one stubborn strand at a time. I managed to clear about 10% of it before the doctor ordered me to stop (I was pregnant at the time, with my second child).

First question: Is there a faster (but environmentally friendly) way to clear this stuff?

Second question: The 10% that I cleared by hand should probably be planted with something this spring to stop erosion and the now-exposed rocks from tumbling down into my house, yes? Do you have recommendations of plants I can grow that will have a fighting chance against the ivy, but not be so tenacious and fast-growing in and of themselves to then become ANOTHER pesky plant to deal with? I'm thinking perhaps phlox, lily of the valley, white and blue balloon flowers ... but any suggestions appreciated. I would love to plant a white-and-blue garden that is fragrant and attractive to birds and butterflies and will do well in a west-facing rock garden. Oh, and I also have snails, so anything snail-resistant would be a big plus!

I don't know anything about garden design, but any pointers on where to start with that (books, websites) would also be most appreciated!

I'm delighted to be a new member of this forum and of the Holladay community here in Salt Lake, and I thank you in advance for your patience and expertise with my newbie questions!

Karen

You can get some good garden design ideas from a few books I've enjoyed: Tracy DiSabato Aust has a nice one called "The Well-Designed Mixed Garden." I read it last year and found it very informative, especially about color theory.

Sunset publishes something called the "Western Landscape Book" which is a companion to the "Western Garden Book" which is something like a bible to western gardeners. I'd get both if I were you. I depend on the Western Garden Book as an encyclopedia of plants. You should be warned, though, that Sunset created their own system of garden zones, which are nothing like the USDA zones most of us use when talking about plant hardiness. I think I'm in a zone 3 for Sunset and zone 6 for USDA -- just be sure when you look at Sunset's plant info you realize that if they say a plant's hardy in zone 3 that really means zone 6. Could be confusing, but it's still a great book.

There are also some online databases with good plant information, sort of like the encyclopedia concept. One is Dave's Garden and its PlantFiles section. That database is created by thousands of gardeners who contribute information and photos.

I've also found that the Missouri Botanical Garden is a great resource, because they're in a zone 6 just like where I live. What I like the best is their database of plants, which includes a link for most flowers that you can click to see exactly what weeks that flower was in bloom in their gardens for several years running. This link takes you to their alphabetical plant index, but you can enter a plant name in the search box to more efficiently find info on plants.

Good luck, and keep coming back with questions -- there are lots of people around to help.